stuck on page 143
by golden doe
Summary: When she was six, there was a boy on the school bus who never failed to give her a stem sometimes more of freshly plucked flower every morning. For SSM 2012


Title: stuck on page 143

Author: golden doe

Summary: When she was six, there was a boy on the school bus who never failed to give her a stem (sometimes more) of freshly plucked flower every morning.

Rating: K

Prompt: Younger

Notes: this is based from my childhood experience, actually. I'm still guilty for lying .

* * *

"_Do you happen to know any Kakashi?"_

"_No."_

.

.

.

_Must find a baby picture!_

Year 12. Senior year. The last year in high school. In few months' time, before she even knew it, she'd be standing in the stage shaking hands with the principal as she received her diploma. Then... university—but Sakura Haruno could worry about that later. As of the moment, she was too busy with the task of looking through old photo albums for a baby picture—a _decent_ baby picture, if she may add—for the powerpoint presentation in the ceremony where they'd flash a baby picture and a present picture side by side when the graduating was called to the stage. So far, her search had been far from successful.

It seemed the oldest pictures were on the albums buried deepest in the box.

She grabbed another album, hoping it to be filled of baby pictures, but to her disappointment they were pictures of her when she was about six years old. However, being the desperate that she was, still flicked through the album frantically looking for a baby picture.

When she got to the last page and still no success to her hunt, she made a move to close the dusty album but a picture caught her eye.

It was her, when she was... probably six years old. And judging from her attire, she was more than willing to bet her Blackberry that it was taken during a school Christmas party. The bodice of her dress was red studded with little white pearls that glinted against the camera flash while the skirt was a white organza material that puffed out about her, creating a princess image. It wasn't the dress that suggested it was taken during Christmas though, but the santa hat sitting atop shoulder-length pink hair.

There wasn't anything special about the photograph, really. Except for the other person on the picture. It was a boy with ebony hair as dark as Snow White's and a complexion so fair she found herself envying a boy's skin. He was wearing a yellow button-down polo and black slacks.

And honestly, they looked cute together. But who could this boy be?

'_Oh well, I can just ask mum that when she gets home_,' she thought as she pulled the photograph from the plastic sleeve, placing it atop the desk before resuming her previous hunt.

"Hey mum!" she greeted as she opened the door for her mother.

"Hey you too, sweetie. How was baby picture hunting?"

The sixteen year old groaned. "It was a disaster. I think I trashed my room scavenging for one."

The older woman only laughed as she affectionately patted her daughter on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll find one."

"But Kurenai-sensei wants it by Monday."

"You want me to help you later?"

"Nah, it's fine. I know you're already tired from work."

"Aww, you're such a sweet girl."

.

.

.

"Uhm, mum?"

"Yeah?"

"I found this on one of the albums," she said as she handed the old photograph she found earlier.

Sakura watched as her mother stared at the photo with almost a longing look then she giggled.

"I remember taking this photo," her mother sighed dreamily, "the two of you looked so cute together."

"So you know the boy?"

Her mother suddenly turned to her in wonder. "You don't remember him?"

Should she? "No, why?"

"But he used to give you flowers everyday when you were kids. Don't you remember? His name is Sasuke. Hmm, I wonder how he is now."

At the mention of flowers, Sakura suddenly could remember a boy giving her flowers when she was just a little girl but she could no longer match a face to the boy's. It's been so long...

When she was six there was a boy (with ebony hair as dark as Snow White's) on the bus who never failed to give her a stem (sometimes more) of freshly plucked flower (maybe from his family garden) every morning. The driver, a white-haired man with blue handkerchief covering half his face didn't fail to tease them about it either.

She couldn't remember his name. And honestly, she wasn't sure if she even knew his name. All she could remember was the boy who offered her the empty seat next to him, when the rest of the bus was otherwise occupied the first day of school all those years ago. Then the morning after that, the flowers started coming.

As a little girl, she was elated by the fact that she someone as cute as him was giving her flowers and thought the gesture to be sweet. But then one day, she didn't receive one.

Vaguely though, an image of crushed flowers left in an empty bus seat kept flashing in her mind.

She didn't remember when she stopped receiving flowers but she knew it was around the time before he stopped riding their bus. When she asked Kakashi about it, he said that his parents passed away and a distant relative adopted him.

Then that was it, just another page in her life.

* * *

One afternoon, during lunch when she knew she should be at the canteen eating the sushi and onigiri she prepared for herself before coming to school this morning, she found herself standing on the bleachers, overlooking the empty dimly lighted gymnasium. Honestly, she didn't know what she was doing there but her feet somehow brought her there. Perhaps it was because graduation was approaching in a few weeks' time, and that she'd be walking up that stage to receive her diploma.

No one else was there but her and the silence was starting to sound deafening against her ears. But when she turned around, she found herself standing just a few inches away from a guy (who looked to be about her age).

_When did he get there? And how come she didn't even feel him when he was standing so close...?_

Clear bright green eyes found dark bottomless black. And the eye contact lasted until he offered a smile and spoke.

"Hey, do you happen to know any Kakashi?"

The spell was broken and she was suddenly blinking. Then as her brain replayed the words that just came out of his lips, her heart almost stops. And she didn't know why at all. The question seemed almost like a cryptic code, disguised as a simple harmless one; her answer, be it yes or no, would be the unravelling.

Of course she knew someone named Kakashi, Kakashi was the bus driver from all those years ago—it has been so long it would have been impossible for anyone to remember but she prided in her good memory—and of course, she knows him. Hell, she'd even engage him in conversation whenever she saw him.  
However not knowing what overcame her, she answered the negative before heading for the stairs, descending as quickly as possible, her waist length pink hair flying like a cloak after her, but not too fast he would think she was running away from him.

A sigh escaped his lips as he watched _her_ ran away from him. He should've known better than to hope. Now look where it led him. To further disappointments. Damn. It was her, he was sure of it. And besides, what sane girl would dye their pink hair? Who else possess natural pink hair? It could only be _her_. Sakura. The cute girl from the bus a decade ago. The one Kakashi never failed to tease him about _before_ the bus fetched her from her stop and _after_ she got off.

He knew there was no way she could still remember him, not after all these years they haven't seen each other. But why did she _lie_?

Footsteps from the stairs started to grow louder, reverberating around the empty gym. And when he caught sight of the spiky blonde hair emerging from the stairs, he knew it was the _dobe_.

"What the fuck, teme! I just saw Sakura-chan running away from here. What the hell did you do to her?" Naruto, the ever meddlesome that he was, asked loudly.

Sasuke scowled at him, not really wanting remember his encounter with the girl he courted when he was just six. But knowing he didn't have a choice, he told him nonetheless.

"She lied?" Naruto whispered in disbelief—Sakura-chan was the last person he expected to lie—once his best friend finished telling what happened not too long ago.

But instead of replying, Sasuke only sighed again.

"Told you she won't remember me, dobe." There was dejection in his tone that Naruto couldn't help but pity him.

"How do you figure that when you only asked about Kakashi?"

"I told you she said no."

"But... there's no way! Maybe you just intimidated her," he snickered, "I won't be surprised. Being _you,_ after all. Or... she knew it was your way of confirming who she was and didn't want you to know because she uh, I don't know, hates you?"

Blue eyes widened at what he had said and sputtered to correct himself but was silenced with a hand. He looked at his best friend, trying to gauge his reaction to his slip of the tongue but dark-haired bangs covered almost half his eyes as Sasuke's head hung low.

"Sakura-chan might be just shocked you know," the dobe tried to rectify his carelessness, "After all, you did say you cornered her."

"Tch." Sasuke moved towards the stairs, having enough of Naruto's not really helpful words but also because he didn't want to accept the fact that his best friend with a lesser intellectual capability than him might be right.

* * *

It was February 14—Valentine's Day. Sakura Haruno was comfortably sitting in her class, attentively listening and watching as Shizune-sensei explain about titration. That was, until a knock interrupted their teacher's enthusiastic explanation about the current topic.

Their dark-haired teacher went to answer the door. And a few minutes later, Sakura heard her name being called.

"Sakura Haruno?"

"Hai, sensei?"

Shizune gave her a sly look and a smirk before beckoning her towards the person who interrupted their lesson.

It was a boy, a delivery boy, with a bouquet in his hand and a clipboard on the other.

The boy smiled at her before handing her the flowers.

"Flowers for Miss Sakura Haruno. The sender wishes you a Happy Valentine's Day," he told her.

.

.

.

_Okay... What?_

Sakura stared at the bouquet of white and red roses that was placed in her hands, lips agape in disbelief. Then she looked up to the delivery boy who brought the beautiful flowers.

"May I know who this is from?" she inquired politely when she found no card attached to the bouquet, a blush visible on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry but the customer wishes to be anonymous and only the manager knows whoever he could be," the boy apologised.

"It's fine..." she hesitated, "but can you uhm, can you tell him I said thank you? And that I wish him a Happy Valentine's too?"

The boy nodded. "Sure."

.

.

.

The pink-haired girl headed back to her seat and spared the bunch of flowers one last curious look before setting it under her chair. As she walked, Sakura could feel the interested and curious stares were giving him but she ignored.

"You're welcome," someone suddenly breathed on her neck.

Shocked at the gesture, she immediately turned to look at her back only to find the guy she didn't know was sitting behind her.

It was the guy from both the bleachers. And he was smirking at her.

She gasped. _That smirk..._

.

.

.

"_I'll ask again, do you know any Kakashi?"_

"_Do you?"_

(he rolled his eyes)

"_Obviously."_

"_You're Sasuke"_

(she realised)

(he smirked)

"_So you do remember me."_

(she scoffed)

"_My mum did."_

(she corrected him

and he scowled)

—a minute passed.

(she fidgeted)

"_What exactly are you asking, Sasuke?"_

(he sighed)

"_Will you be my girlfriend?"_

(she blinked)

"_You... still like me?_"

(this time, his smirk was faint)

"_I never stopped."_

__The End.


End file.
